


Locating Rose Tyler

by atlanteanwhovian



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Journey's End fix-it, M/M, Reunion Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-14
Updated: 2014-07-06
Packaged: 2018-01-24 20:12:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1615604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atlanteanwhovian/pseuds/atlanteanwhovian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of The Angels Take Manhattan, the TARDIS decides to reunite her Thief with their Rose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The Doctor sighed, looking around the empty TARDIS. River had stayed with him a while after the events in New York but eventually she had to return to Stormcage. He was truly alone, which was a first for this regeneration.  
  
As he'd told Amy, hers was the first face that this face saw... and now she was gone.  
  
Both of them were gone.  
  
"At least they went together." He whispered.  
  
The TARDIS hummed sympathetically, and as the Doctor turned to walk out of the console room, she put her plan into action.  
  
The console sparked just as he exited the room, causing him to turn back and dash over to it.  
  
"What? What was that all about, eh?" He patted the console and settled himself underneath it, determined to find out exactly what happened. The TARDIS, however, had other ideas.  
  
"Ow! What was that for?" He grumbled, sucking his sore fingers into his mouth. She'd shocked him. His ship had actually shocked him - the Doctor was certain that she'd never done that before.  
  
There was a click from the console above him and the Doctor saw a lever flick itself on. The lever that he used to leave. The rotor was moving, the TARDIS was flying through the vortex and the Doctor couldn't do a single thing about it.  
Everything he touched either sparked or shocked him. He realised the TARDIS was up to something and wished that she still had a body so she could tell him what she was doing.  
  
Instead of the usual hum, the TARDIS was groaning. Clearly whatever she was doing was taking quite a bit of effort.  
  
The Doctor let out a frustrated yell. "Where are you taking me?" He wasn't really expecting an answer, so when a screen flashed to his right he smiled, pleased that his ship was finally cooperating.  
  
What he saw on the screen completely wiped the smile off his face. Two words, the same two words, repeated over and over on the small screen.  
  
 **BAD WOLF.**

* * *

He had only one thought that wasn't panic at seeing those words after all these years.  
  
The Bad Wolf.  
  
 **Rose.**  
  
 _ **His Rose.** _  
  
The TARDIS was trying to find Rose.  
  
The screen cleared, and more words appeared.  
  
 **Locating Rose Tyler.**  
  
The Doctor knew his magnificent ship wouldn't have any trouble finding her. Rose had helped him heal after the War, made him a better man. Rose was just as important to the TARDIS as she was to the Doctor.  
  
The screen flashed to get his attention.  
  
 **Rose Tyler located.**  
  
Current Date and Location: Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff. October 18th, 2009.  
  
October 2009. That would be about the time when she was looking for him to warn him about the 'planets in the sky'.  
  
The TARDIS materialised a little too late; the Doctor saw only a streak of blonde hair and a flash of white light as he stepped out of the TARDIS. He'd missed her by seconds.  
  
He closed his eyes and leaned back against the TARDIS doors. _Seconds._  
  
He'd also missed a figure standing on the invisible lift in front of the fountain. He didn't see the figure stride towards him, blue coat flaring around him as he walked.  
  
But he couldn't miss the call of "Doctor!", or the accent of the speaker. American.  
  
Of course! The Doctor mentally slapped himself. Cardiff, 2009, by the fountain. He was bound to bump into _him_ , especially here.  
  
The Doctor grinned. "Jack!" Jack wasn't exactly who he'd been looking for, but as the immortal man pulled him into a hug, the Doctor realised he didn't mind that fact so much.  
  
At least until Jack kissed him.  
  
He pulled away blushing and Jack chuckled. "Sorry. Couldn't resist."  
  
The Doctor smiled despite his discomfort. Jack hadn't changed much.  
  
Grinning, Jack tugged him towards the lift. "You regenerated again?"  
  
"Yes. How did you know it was me?"  
  
"The police box kind of gave it away."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"That, and only you could think that tweed is fashionable. What's with the bow tie?"  
  
"It's cool. Bow ties are cool." The Doctor replied, adjusting the tie as he spoke.  
  
Jack laughed. "They're really not. Suits you, though."

* * *

Gwen and Ianto's reaction to having the Doctor suddenly appear in the Hub behind Jack was pretty positive.  
  
He spent most of his time watching Jack and Ianto and how they acted together.  
  
Eventually the novelty wore off, and the Doctor and Jack were sat in Jack's office. He was telling the immortal man stories of his adventures with the Ponds, which inevitably led to him talking about their deaths.  
  
"Weeping Angels in New York, Jack. That's how it happened. Gone in the blink of an eye."  
  
One hour, two glasses of brandy and a slightly teary Doctor later, the Doctor asked about the flash of blonde hair he'd seen when he arrived.  
  
"It was her, wasn't it. Rose."  
  
Jack nodded. "It was her. She was looking for you, thought you might be here."  
  
"How is she?"  
  
"Same as ever. She told me to tell you that if I saw you before she did, the darkness is coming. Make any sense?"  
  
"Hm? Oh, perfect sense."  
  
"Well?"  
  
"You'll find out soon enough." He stood up. "I should probably get going. Planets to rescue!" He joked.  
  
"Doctor." Jack's tone was serious. "Find her."  
  
He nodded. "I will."

* * *

Jack's words were at the front of the Doctor's mind. He was right. He had to find Rose.  
  
"You promised me Rose. What did I get instead? Cardiff."  
  
Patting the console and feeling more than a little annoyed with his ship, the Doctor took one look at the screen (the words **Locating Rose Tyler** still flashing on it) and headed deeper inside his ship.  
  
"Wake me when you find her."  
  
He found that a few hours sleep had done little to improve his mood, especially after being woken up by an insistent and irritating beeping that would not shut off until he reached the console.  
  
"I hope this is good news."  
  
The screen was displaying the words ' **Rose Tyler located** ' again.  
  
"Where is she this time, then?" The Doctor asked, flipping a lever and trusting his ship to get him there at the right time.  
  
The travel was as rough as always as the TARDIS moved through the vortex, and the force of the landing sent the Doctor sprawling onto the floor. Laughter chimed inside his head.  
  
"Oh, you did that on purpose!" More laughter led the Doctor to wonder whether or not it was possible to be abused by your own home.  
  
He climbed to his feet and turned to face the console, pulling the screen down so that he could see it. It was blank.  
  
"Well, that's helpful. Where are we now?"  
  
The TARDIS stayed silent this time, leaving the Doctor with no choice than to head out into the unknown. He pulled the door open and emerged onto a beach.  
  
A very familiar beach.  
  
The TARDIS had taken him to Bad Wolf Bay. And standing just a few feet away, looking from the TARDIS to him in amazement, was Rose.  
  
"Rose?"  
  
He'd found her.


	2. Chapter 2

Rose bolted upright in bed. Sweat beaded over her forehead as she sank back onto the pillows. She'd had a nightmare, the exact same one she'd been having since a few months back. There was nothing but black and a voice whispering through the darkness. "Bad Wolf," it hissed, "the darkness is coming..."

Nothing but those six words haunting her dreams for months.

Rose looked at the clock. It was 6am, so there wasn't much point trying to get back to sleep now. She had a meeting at Torchwood at 8 to refine the dimension cannon further. She'd bumped into Tegan, Sarah Jane, Grace... Everyone except the man she was looking for. She'd met so many of his companions on her attempts, but she had yet to encounter the Doctor himself.

She hadn't run into Jack either, which was strange as she was sure she would have done by now. As Rose threw the covers off, she decided that was going to be today's objective: find Jack.

* * *

After the meeting had finished, Rose along with Mickey and Jake set about refining the dimension cannon so it would actually get her where she wanted to go, in this case Cardiff.

Oh yes, Rose knew Jack was still alive, and she knew exactly where he was and what he did. The Doctor had no idea that Rose knew this, or that she knew he'd purposely abandoned him on Satellite 5 all those years ago.

Jake entered the date and location into the panel on the cannon. Rose had picked late 2009, October 18th, as she knew that it would have given Jack and his team time to rebuild their base after the incident with the children and the 456. In this parallel universe, said incident had completely wiped out the workers of Torchwood Three. Rose could only hope the same thing hadn't happened in her own universe.

Jake and Mickey fired up the cannon, watching as she stepped into its path. "Tell Captain Cheesecake I said hello, yeah?" Mickey asked as the cannon powered up. There was a blinding flash of light, and Rose began to run towards it, passing straight through it. The light died instantly, and Rose was gone.

* * *

Ianto Jones was collecting the empty mug from Gwen's desk when there was a flash of bright white light in the middle of the Hub. It spat out a blonde girl in a blue leather jacket, who ground to a halt and looked around in amazement. Ianto was amazed too; amazed that this girl was able to appear inside the Hub without triggering any of the alarms.

Her gaze landed on him and she started, hand twitching towards her belt instinctively. They stared at each other for a few seconds, seemingly waiting for the other to make a move, until finally she broke the silence.

"I'm looking for Jack Harkness. Is he here?" She kept her voice steady as she spoke, but Ianto could hear traces of a cockney accent in her words.

Before Ianto could reply, Jack himself came out of his office. "Ianto, I need you to get on the database, look up any suspic-" Jack stopped when he noticed the blonde girl standing in the middle of the Hub, smiling at him.

"R-Rose?" Jack asked, shocked.

The blonde named Rose grinned. "Hello, Jack." She walked towards him until she was stood right in front of him. She paused, and threw her arms around his neck. Jack wrapped his arms around her and buried his head in her shoulder. Ianto relaxed slightly as he realised that this girl wasn't a threat to them; judging by the look on Jack's face as he pulled back to look at her, Rose was simply an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Rose, how are you here? The Doctor told me you were trapped in that parallel universe."

"We have our own version of Torchwood over there." Rose shrugged. "Alien technology that we've been refining."

Jack smiled at that and looked over at Ianto, who was watching the exchange curiously.

"Rose, meet Ianto Jones. Ianto, this is Rose Tyler." Rose smiled at him as Jack spoke. "I'm sure Rosie here is parched after her trip - you couldn't go conjure up some of your magic coffee, could you?"

"For you sir, anything." Ianto replied as he headed towards the coffee machine, Gwen's empty mug still in hand.

* * *

"Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth." Jack mused, absorbing what Rose had just told him about her life on the parallel world. They were both sat in Jack's office, holding mugs of Ianto's wonderful coffee.

"Yep." Rose grinned, tongue poking out from the corner of her mouth.

"Wow." Rose chuckled at his speechlessness.

"Yep. Mickey says hello, too. Actually, his exact words were 'Tell Captain Cheesecake I said hello'."

"'Captain Cheesecake'? Well, when you get back, tell Mickey Mouse-" Rose laughed at this, "-I said hi."

"Will do."

"Back to the whole Defender of the Earth thing. I'm guessing there was some other reason you came here. Aside from seeing me, of course."

Rose smiled, then it faded as she remembered what she had to tell him. She looked down, studying the patterns in the wood. "I've been having these dreams, Jack. More like nightmares, really."

Jack leaned towards her, concerned. "What about?"

"It's just darkness, and a voice. That's it. I know it doesn't sound like much, but..."

"What does the voice say?"

Rose looked up at him. "It says 'Bad Wolf'," Jack paled slightly as he heard those two words, knowing their significance. "'The darkness is coming.' Nothing except darkness and those words for the last few months, Jack."

"What does it mean?"

"I don't know, but..." Something in a news report in the parallel universe came to her. "Years ago, in the other universe, there was this report... that the stars were going out. And after that... planets kept appearing in the sky. We couldn't do anything about it, but they were just there for months, and then they were gone."

"Jack! There's something happening in the plaza - there's a lot of white light out there." Ianto called, poking his head into Jack's office. Rose smiled sadly and stood up.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but my ride's here, so..." Her attempt at humour fell flat.

"Jack, if you see the Doctor before I do, tell him what I said. Tell him that the darkness is coming."

He nodded. "I will. Be careful, Rosie."

Rose began to walk towards the lift, but was stopped by Jack hugging her tightly. She pulled back, slightly tearful.

"I'll see you again, won't I?" Jack asked as the lift rose.

Rose smiled. "Hopefully, yeah."

As Rose walked into the light, the TARDIS began to materialise on the other side of the plaza.

* * *

"Rose, are you alright?" Rose looked up to find Mickey standing beside her.

"I'm fine..." She realised she was on the floor, and stood up.

"Did you find him? Jack, I mean."

"Yeah, I found him. And two of his teammates." What had happened in the parallel universe had clearly not happened in her own.

Rose was glad about that, as although she'd only seen a brief exchange between Jack and Ianto, she knew that he would have been devastated had the young Welshman died during what had been dubbed the 'children of earth' incident.

Rose looked at Mickey. "Mickey Mouse?" He rolled his eyes. "Jack says hi."

"So, now we know that the cannon works properly and we can get you back..." Jake began.

"We find the Doctor."

* * *

 

Days passed, with very little success. Rose kept ending up in random places; fields, warehouses, even Paris, once.

But there was one place she hadn't tried, because it brought with it so many painful memories.

Darlig Ulv Stranden.

Bad Wolf Bay.

Even now those two words still haunted her. Rose didn't want to relive the memories of the day she was torn from him, sealed away in a parallel universe, but if it got her any closer to finding the Doctor, it was worth a shot.

As she walked into the 'Cannon Chamber', she announced her intentions to the two men already starting up the machine.

"Bad Wolf Bay."

Mickey looked over to where she was standing. "You sure that's a good idea?"

"No, but it's an idea all the same."

Mickey and Jake shared a look, but continued powering up the cannon.

* * *

The cold sea breeze hit her as she landed, and she could feel sand beneath her boots. Looking around left her with no doubt that this was indeed Bad Wolf Bay.

But she was alone - there was nothing except the sandy beach and the endless sea.

Rose turned her back on the sea and shoved her hands into her pockets. She closed her eyes, letting the sound of the waves wash over her.

She frowned; the waves were getting louder. How was that possible? Then she realised the whooshing sound she was hearing wasn't the waves at all, but the sound she'd been so desperately waiting to hear.

**Engines.**

Rose turned on her heels, heart racing as the outline of that blue box became visible.

The TARDIS was materialising in front of her. She wanted to burst through those doors so badly that she almost didn't notice the changes to the ship. She was bluer, for one, and there was a white St John's Ambulance sticker that hadn't been there before.

The door opened, and out stepped a man Rose had never seen before. He had floppy brown hair, and was not only wearing a tweed jacket, but a _bowtie_ with it. By his dress sense alone it was possible that this man could be the Doctor, but what had happened to her Doctor? The one with the long coat and the great hair?

Whoever he was, he was staring at her like he'd just found something precious he thought he'd lost a long time ago.

"Rose?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote and finished this a while ago so there shouldn't be too long a wait between chapters.

The Doctor couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. His pink and yellow girl, his Rose, was standing in front of him.  
  
"Doctor, is that you?"  
  
He gave her a shaky smile. "Yes, it's me."   
  
Rose stared at him for a moment, before the corners of her mouth turned up in a small smile. She took a few steps towards him and he wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off her feet.  
  
It had been far too long since he'd last seen her.  
  
Pulling away, he grinned at her. "So," he began, ruffling her hair affectionately. "I heard you were looking for me."  
  
Rose laughed. "Yeah, yeah I was. Well, not you, the other you... oh you know what I mean."  
  
He did. Personal pronouns had a way of going all funny whenever he was involved. "You were looking for..." he mimed the height of his predecessor's hair. "Spiky hair, long coat?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I think he may be stuck on a diamond planet called Midnight with copycat shadows... but don't worry, he'll be fine. Anyway," he snapped his fingers and the door to the TARDIS opened behind him. "Make yourself at home."  
  
Rose grinned at him then and walked past him into the TARDIS.  
  
"You redecorated! Oh, what happened to the coral?"   
  
He shrugged. "She changed at the same time I did."  
  
"It's very... orange." As Rose walked around the console, she noticed that the floors were made of glass, not wire, and the time rotor looked like bubbles joined onto one another, not the tubes it had been.  
  
The Doctor offered her his arm. "Rose Tyler, would you care to join me for some tea?"   
  
"Why Doctor, I would love to." She replied, trying not to giggle as he linked his arm with hers.

* * *

 

The Doctor and Rose were sat in the library, two steaming mugs of tea on the table in front of them.

"Rose," He began, pausing when she looked over at him, "this is a long shot, but do you remember... New Year's Day, 2005?"

Rose looked confused. "I - I think so. Why?"

The Doctor smiled sadly. "That was the year you met me." He prompted her.

"It was, yeah." She shrugged. "I think I remember it. I was walking home with my mum and there was this bloke... he said that I was gonna have a really... great year." She looked up at him then, tears in her brown eyes. "He was wearing this suit and a long coat. That was... that was you!"

"Yes, it was me. I had to see you again, before..." The look in Rose's eyes was enough to almost bring him to tears. He pulled her into a hug, more for his comfort than hers.

"Look at us both." She joked, wiping her eyes. "It was a great few years though, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was."

A comfortable silence descended over them, broken only by the occasional complaintive chink made by the mugs as they were placed back on the table.

"Jack told me you were looking for me, about the darkness." The Doctor wasn't too concerned about it this time round. Even though time is constantly in flux, he'd already lived through it. Though Rose would change the events somewhat by following Jack, Martha and Mickey instead of staying on the TARDIS with his previous self.

"That answers how you knew I was looking for you. When did you talk to him?"

"Right after you did. I was looking for you too, you know."

"Really?"

"Well, it was more the TARDIS's decision, you know what she's like..." An indignant hum sounded through the room, and both Rose and the Doctor laughed.

"So, why were you looking for me?" The Doctor grimaced slightly and began to explain the events in New York.

* * *

Rose looked at her watch. "I have about half an hour before I have to go back." The tests they'd run on the cannon had showed that she typically had about an hour wherever she was before she had to go back to the parallel universe. "But Doctor, how do I get back to you?"

"Once everything's over, once the Earth is back where it should be," He produced a piece of paper from one of his many pockets and gave it to her. "Use these coordinates. They're for the console room of this TARDIS. They'll bring you back to me."

She looked from the coordinates to him. "Okay. How?"

"I dunno... you could borrow Jack's vortex manipulator or something. But when I - he - starts dropping you all off, go with Jack. Don't stay on the TARDIS, as much as you might want to after seeing him again."

"Why not?"

He put his hands on her shoulders. "Because if you stay, you'll end up back in the parallel universe."

She looked at him, confused. "Why would I end up back there?"

He sighed. "Something happens, I can't really tell you, but there ends up being a metacrisis and I - _he_ \- thought that you and him could stay in the parallel universe together."

"Why would he think that?" The Doctor tried to remember why he had thought that and came up blank. "I don't know." He admitted. "I guess, he just wanted you to be happy."

"Separated from you? I'd never be happy again. These last couple of years without you have been hard, and I don't think I can go through losing you again."

She blinked back tears and the Doctor slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him, where she curled into his side. They stayed like that, simply enjoying the other's company until Rose's watch beeped. Their time was up.

Rose stood, lost for words, and headed back into the console room. The Doctor stopped her as she reached the console. "Keep those co-ordinates safe, and be careful."

He hesitated for a second. Steeling himself, he closed the gap between them and kissed her gently. Rose began to respond when her watch beeped again, forcing her to break the kiss.

"I should go." There was a note of reluctance in her voice.

"Yes," He planted a kiss on her forehead. "You should."

"I'll see you soon, yeah?"

"Yeah." With one last smile, Rose turned and walked out of the TARDIS. Once outside, the Doctor saw she turned back to look at the ship. Maybe she was waiting for him to go first. If she was though, she didn't get much of a chance as a bright white light appeared further along the beach.

Rose headed towards it, giving the TARDIS one last look before stepping into the light and disappearing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the dialogue in this chapter is from Journey's End, as this gave me massive difficulties when writing.

The Doctor decided it was probably easier and safer if he stayed on the beach. He put the TARDIS on low power and settled himself underneath the console again.

* * *

 

Rose landed on her feet this time, lips and forehead still tingling from the Doctor's kisses.

She patted the pocket with the co-ordinates in and walked over to Jake and Mickey, who were examining some part of the machine and looking very unhappy about something.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

Jake shrugged. "No idea. It just... stopped working. We had trouble getting you back here, it took us a couple tries to establish a proper connection."

"Can you fix it?"

"Probably, but it'll take a while."

"Okay. I'm taking some time off, so just call me when you get this fixed, yeah?"

~

It had now been three days since she saw him.

Rose had taken two days off in order to spend more time with her family, as she knew that when she got back to the Doctor she probably wasn't going to see them again.

She had been playing hide and seek with Tony for the past hour. This game was one of the four year old's favourites, probably because their house had so many hiding places. His usual spot was in the airing cupboard on the first floor, and she checked there expecting to find him.

When he wasn't there Rose remembered telling him that if he kept hiding in the same place every time, she would find him too quickly and it wouldn't be very fun.

Her brother had apparently been listening, even though at the time he'd been more focused on the packet of Jammie Dodgers in her hand.

It took Rose almost two hours to find him. He'd been hiding in another cupboard, but this time it was full of towels and on the other side of the house.

* * *

She and Tony were in the kitchen when her phone rang. She told her brother Mum would be upset if he had too many snacks before dinner in an attempt to avoid a hyperactive four year old. Shaking her head at his attempts to sneak a couple of biscuits into his pocket, she answered the phone. A quick glance at the caller ID told her it was Mickey. "We've fixed it."

 

The reason Rose had stayed longer than she had anticipated was because the dimension cannon had somehow broke when she arrived back. Rose didn't have any idea what had broke, so she'd left the repair works to Jake and Mickey. The fact that Mickey used to be a mechanic was a big help, as he could almost always fix everything.

* * *

It was dark when she landed, and there were ambulances in the road ahead. Rose raced towards the crowd that had gathered, fearing the worst.

"What happened? What did they find?" She turned and grabbed hold of the ginger woman walking away from the scene. "Sorry, did they find someone?"

The woman shrugged. "I don't know. A bloke called the Doctor, or something."

Rose's heart sank. "Well, where is he?" She dreaded the answer she was going to get.

"They took him away." She said, in a gentle tone. "He's dead."

Rose didn't hear the rest of the sentence. "I came so far."

The redhead was still talking, and Rose actually looked at her. Why was she familiar? "What's your name?"

"Donna." Ah, that's why. "And you?"

Rose dodged the question, she couldn't let Donna know who she was, not yet. "Oh, I was just... passing by. I shouldn't even be here. This is wrong. This is wrong..." She noticed the insect-like legs over Donna's shoulder. "This is so wrong. Sorry, what was it? Donna what?"

Rose's constant glances at Donna's back had not gone unnoticed. "Why d'you keep looking at my back?"

She diverted her eyes back to Donna's face before she answered. "I'm not."

"Yes you are. You keep looking behind me. You're doing it now. What is it? What's there! Did someone put something on my back?"

While Donna was trying to look over her own shoulder, Rose activated the remote control for the dimension cannon and faded back into the parallel universe.

* * *

There was a loud BANG and Rose found herself skidding to a halt on a deserted street. Rose frowned at the ordinary alley way she'd just been ejected from.

"Blimey, you all right?" It was the redheaded woman again. Donna. As Rose had never met the same person twice while dimension hopping, she was slightly suspicious. "What was that, fireworks, or..."Donna looked at the alley way too, finding it completely empty.

Rose shook her head to clear it. "Ooh, I dunno. I was just walking along. Weird." The cannon had never activated of its own accord before. Donna seemed to recognise her.

"You're the one who... Christmas Eve, I met you, in town."

"That's right, Donna, isn't it?"

"What was your name?"

Rose avoided the question again, deciding to distract Donna with some random babble. Just like the Doctor would have.

"Bit of a coincidence. Small world! How are you? You're looking good. It's been ages. How's things? What you been up to?" There was that leg again, creeping over Donna's shoulder.

_I really need to be more subtle,_ Rose thought as Donna noticed her staring and called her on it.

"You're doing it again."

"What?"

"Looking behind me. People keep on doing that. Looking at my back."

"What sort of people?

" "People in the street. Strangers. I just catch them, sometimes. Staring at me. Like they can see something. And I get home and I look and there's nothing there." Something made her jump. "D'you see? Now I'm doing it!"

And Rose remembered why she'd made this trip in particular. The Titanic falling on London on Christmas day. "What are you doing for Christmas?"

Donna was confused. "What am I what?"

"Next Christmas. Any plans?"

"I dunno, that's ages away! Nothing much, I suppose, why?"

"You should get out of town." Rose told her seriously. "Don't stay in London. You and your family, just leave the city."

"What for?"

"Nice hotel. Christmas holiday."

"Can't afford it." Rose was surprised at the bluntness of her voice. Usually people didn't like to broadcast things like that. "You've got that raffle ticket."

Donna was stunned. "How d'you know about that?"

"First prize. Luxury weekend break. Use it, Donna Noble."

When Donna's expression turned frosty Rose knew she'd made a mistake calling her by her full name.

"Why won't you tell me your name?" There was a pause as the redhead thought. "I think you should leave me alone."

As Donna walked away, Rose noticed the white light in the alley and headed towards it, knowing it would get her back.

* * *

 

Rose was standing in the middle of the road, just waiting. She knew that Donna was going to turn up.

"Hello."

"Hi."

Nothing else was said as Rose began to walk towards the nearest park.

"It's the ATMOS devices. You're lucky, it's not so bad here, Britain hasn't got much petrol. But all over Europe. China. South Africa. They're getting choked by gas."

"Can't anyone stop it?"

"They're trying. Right now. This little band of fighters, on board the Sontaran ship. Any second now-" As a blaze of fire tore across the sky, Rose quickly and silently mourned the two humans on board. Though she hadn't known either Gwen nor Ianto particularly well, she still knew that they both mattered greatly to Jack.

"And that was...?"

"The Torchwood team. Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones, they gave their lives. And Captain Jack Harkness has been transported to the Sontaran homeworld. The last of the heroes, all gone. There's no one left."

Donna's observation came out of the blue. "You're always wearing the same clothes. Why won't you tell me your name?"

"Thing is, none of this was meant to happen. There was a man. This wonderful man. And he stopped them. The Titanic, the Adipose, the ATMOS, he stopped them all from happening."

"That... Doctor?"

"Yeah."

"Who was he?"

"You knew him."

"Did I? When?"

"I think you dream of him, sometimes. Man in a suit. Tall, thin man. Great hair." She smiled, remembering. "Some really great hair."

"...Who are you?"

"I was like you. I used to be you. Cos you travelled with him, Donna, you travelled with the Doctor. In a different world."

"But I never met him. And he's dead."

"He died underneath the Thames on Christmas Eve. But you were meant to be there. He needed someone to stop him, and that was you. You made him leave, you saved his life."

Rose had no way of knowing the effects her words were having on the other woman. Donna was engulfed in flashbacks of a memory that had never happened.

"Stop it! I don't know what you're talking about, leave me alone!"

As Donna turned to walk away, Rose called after her. "Something is coming, Donna. Something worse."

"The whole world is stinking. How could anything be worse than this?"

"Trust me, we need the Doctor, more than ever. I've been pulled across from a different universe, because every single universe is in danger. It's coming, Donna. It's coming, from across the stars, and nothing can stop it."

"What is?"

"The darkness."

"Well, what d'you keep telling me for? What am I supposed to do?! I'm not... I mean... I'm nothing special. I'm a temp! I'm not even that! I'm nothing."

"Donna Noble, you're the most important woman in the whole of creation."

"Don't. Just... don't. I'm tired. I'm so tired."

"I need you to come with me."

"Yeah, well blonde hair might work on the men, but you're not shifting me, lady!"

"That's more like it!"

"I've got plenty more."

"You'll come with me. But only when you want to."

"You'll have a long wait, then."

"No. Just three weeks. Tell me, has your grandfather still got that telescope?"

"Never lets go of it, why?"

"Three weeks time. But you've got to be certain. Cos when you come with me... I'm sorry, Donna. I'm so sorry. But you're gonna die."

Rose simply faded away, leaving Donna bewildered in the empty park.

* * *

 

"I'm ready."

Rose didn't say anything in reply, simply leading Donna to the UNIT Jeep parked not too far away.

The journey to the warehouse where the salvaged TARDIS was kept was silent.

Soldiers and scientists passed them as they walked through the corridors, each of them glancing at Donna's back as they did so.

"Why do they keep looking at me?"

"There's something on your back."

She led Donna into the main warehouse. The TARDIS was in the centre of a circle of mirrors, with wires coming out of her.

Captain Magambo saluted her. "Ma'am."

"I've told you, don't salute." She didn't like it when people saluted her, mainly because it never happened before and she wasn't used to it.

"Well, if you're not going to tell us your name..."

Donna turned to face the Captain. "What, you don't know either?"

"I've crossed too many different realities - trust me, the wrong word in the wrong place can change the entire causal nexus." Captain Magambo and Donna both looked confused.

"She talks like that. A lot." The Captain explained to Donna. "And you must be... Miss Noble."

"Donna."

"Captain Erisa Magambo. Thank you for this."

"I don't even know what I'm doing!"

"Is she awake?" Rose asked, referring to the TARDIS.

"Seems to be quiet today. Ticking over. Like she's waiting."

Rose turned to Donna. "D'you want to see her?"

She didn't wait for an answer and began to lead the other woman towards the TARDIS. "What's a 'police box'?"

"They salvaged it, from underneath the Thames. Just go inside."

"What for?"

"Just go in." She urged, waiting for the inevitable reaction.

"...No way!" Rose smiled as Donna came running back out of the TARDIS and looked either side of it, checking that the walls were still there.

"What d'you think?" Donna was stunned. "Can I have a coffee?" Rose laughed, and agreed.

* * *

Rose appeared in the street near the accident and made her way through the traffic. No one noticed she was there. No one would, except Donna.

She could see that Donna was beginning to lose consciousness and knelt beside her.

"Tell him this. Two words."

Rose leaned closer to whisper in Donna's ear. "Bad Wolf."

And as Rose faded away, Donna Noble began to turn left.

And as Rose faded away, she caught snippets of a conversation she shouldn't have been able to hear.

"What did she look like?" That was the Doctor's voice. _Her_ Doctor. It sounded urgent and worried but it was still him.

"...she was blonde." And that was Donna. She must have been telling him about what had happened.

"She never said. But she told me. To warn you. She said... two words." Rose realised she could only hear Donna's half of the conversation now. "...bad wolf."

* * *

Rose landed back in the Cannon Chamber, holding up the 'remote'."These work. And now the Earth is about to get stolen, yeah?"

She turned to Mickey as she asked her question. "Yeah."

"Right. Mickey, I need you to find Mum and convince her to come here with you, as quickly as you can. Jake, make sure the other remote is working."

"Okay... why do I need to find your mum?"

"Because you're both coming with me. You need to save Sarah Jane." Rose turned to walk out of the chamber.

"What're you doing then?"

Mickey asked. "Me?" She replied. "I'm going to find my gun."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only 2 more chapters to go!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penultimate chapter!

She had appeared at the end of an abandoned street that was littered with empty cars, a few with their engines still running.

She could see the TARDIS in the distance, two figures standing outside it. From this distance, she couldn't make out any features, but it looked like one of the two had red hair. Donna. The redhead said something to the person beside her, who turned in her direction.

The moment he did so, she felt her heart stutter and a wide grin surge its way onto her face. It was the Doctor.

 _Her_ Doctor.

Pushing her gun to the side, she broke into a run towards him as she watched him do the same.

* * *

She didn't get to hug him properly until later, thanks to a Dalek with almost comically bad timing. But with the regeneration issue over...

"And... you're still you?" She asked. He looked the same but something, anything, could have changed.

He was grinning at her now. "I'm still me."

Rose didn't hesitate to throw her arms around him, burying her head into his shoulders as she felt his arms wrap around her, squeezing her against him.

* * *

Everything from that moment was sort of a blur. She could remember some things very clearly, but not everything.

Most of her conversations with the Doctor, she recalled.

She remembered the look on his face, the joy and happiness in his expression when she told him why she had been refining the dimension cannon.

She remembered landing on the Dalek crucible and being forcibly reminded of the first time they fought the Daleks, back on the Gamestation. Judging by Jack's nervous "Oh, God!", so did he. It was the Daleks that had caused the Doctor to regenerate then, too.

And then Donna. Getting trapped inside the TARDIS, headed for certain death.

Jack. He must have known that the Dalek would kill him for that, and even though she knew what he could do, she was still shocked at the sight of her friend laying dead on the floor in front of them.

The sheer shock in Martha Jones' voice at the mere mention of Rose's name. "Oh my God," She'd whispered. "He found you." Rose had looked over at the Doctor, who'd given her a sad sort of smile.

The TARDIS rematerialising in the Crucible when they'd thought it was all over, bringing with it the Metacrisis Doctor and the Doctor-Donna, and their plan to stop the Daleks and send all the planets back where they belonged.

She'd snorted quietly to herself after overhearing Jack's distracted reply to her comment about there being three Doctors.

The atmosphere in the TARDIS as they worked together to fly the Earth back home was like nothing she'd experienced before. The TARDIS was flying smoothly for once as she, Martha, Jack, Sarah Jane, Mickey and the Doctor worked at the console.

It was just... jubilant. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face if she tried, and she swore she could hear faint music underneath the TARDIS' rhythmic humming.

* * *

 

Rose took a deep breath as she saw Martha and Jack exit the TARDIS. She broke off her conversation with the duplicate Doctor and began to walk down the ramp, preparing herself for what she was about to do.

Seeing her Doctor again had been wonderful. But the bow-tied Doctor had a point. Her Doctor would drop her back in the parallel universe. He hadn't told her anything himself, but why else would he drop everyone else off first?

Rose was about to open the door when Mickey beat her to it. She followed him out. She could see Jack and Martha walking ahead, and Mickey ran to join them. She saw Jack make a remark to him as Mickey caught up with them. As they turned to keep walking, Jack caught her eye and paused, pulling Martha to a stop alongside him.

"Rose? What - what are you doing?" There was pain in the Doctor's voice, and part of her knew that she'd be breaking his hearts by doing this.

"I'm sorry, Doctor. But I can't. I can't stay in the parallel universe any more." Her voice was shaking and tears were threatening to spill down her cheeks, but she had to do this.

She steeled herself and pulled the Doctor into a hug. "I'm sorry," she breathed, mouth level with his ear. "But I can't. I know what you're going to do and I just... I have to go. But do one thing for me, Doctor. Find a way to help Donna."

She released him and walked towards Jack, Martha and Mickey. Martha and Mickey looked confused, but there was sympathy in Jack's eyes as the TARDIS dematerialised behind them.

He squeezed Martha's hand and curled an arm around Rose's shoulders, pulling her in so that she was cradled against his side. He could feel her shaking against him, and let go of Martha's hand to hug Rose.

"You'll be alright, Rosie." He murmured, voice low and soothing as he felt wetness against his neck.

"I know," she replied, having to force the words past the lump in her throat. "I just... I didn't want to have to do that..."

"It's alright. Come on, Gwen and Ianto'll be waiting for us." Rose stayed curled into him the entire walk back to the Hub.

* * *

Rose had stopped crying and calmed down by the time they were in the plaza. They discovered a destroyed Dalek in the entrance to the Hub when the big cog door had rolled out of the way.

There were two relieved shouts of 'Jack!' from inside, and sure enough Gwen and Ianto were waiting for them. Jack untangled himself from Rose and went over to them, pressing a kiss to Gwen's forehead and then to Ianto's.

A small smile crept onto Rose's face at the display of affection.

* * *

 

Initially, Rose had planned to only stay at Torchwood for a few days. But because of the entire Earth seeming to be on the lookout for any kind of alien activity, she was forced to stay.

It was during her second week there, after the scrutiny was over and with the previously-escaped Janet the Weevil safely back in her cell, that she had her chance to go back.

"I need a favour." She told Jack over lunch one day, when the others were busy. She'd already told him about her meeting with the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor, the one Jack had met just before everything kicked off. He had been curious as to why she'd walked away from the TARDIS when it seemed to him like she was never going to leave, and she told him.

"The Doctor, he gave me these." She took the co-ordinates from the pocket of her blue leather jacket and held them out to him. "They're co-ordinates for his TARDIS. They'll take me back to him. But the only way I can get there, is if..."

Her eyes dropped to the vortex manipulator on his wrist. "Is if you let me borrow that."

* * *

 

It had been nearly two weeks since she'd left and the Doctor was growing concerned about her. He knew that she'd left the TARDIS and gone with Jack - that much he remembered.

There was a flash of light in his peripheral vision and he looked up to see Rose appearing in a hazy fuzz and grinning down at him.

He leapt to his feet. She was wearing the same jacket as she had been the day he found her and was just beaming at him, holding up one wrist as he came closer. She had what had to be Jack's vortex manipulator on her left wrist.

The Doctor was pretty sure the look on his face matched hers when he was finally standing in front of her, considering what to do next, whether to simply hug her or to be brave and kiss her.

Rose took the choice out of his hands as she straightened his bow-tie and tugged on it, pulling him into a kiss. His arms flailed wildly for a second as her lips moved against his, as her hands moved from his tie to his shoulders. He quickly came to his senses though, one hand finding its way to the small of her back and the other sliding into her hair.

"Hello," she whispered, pulling away to grin up at him.

He grinned back at her and wrapped both arms tightly around her waist. She was light enough that he could pick her up and spin her around in his arms.

His Rose was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brownie points for anyone who spots the Chameleon Circuit reference.


	6. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter, just an epilogue to pull everything together. Hope you all enjoyed the story.

The Doctor watched as a Barcelonian puppy wandered over to Rose, licking its way through the long grass that surrounded them.

To celebrate, and because he'd always meant to take her there, he'd packed a picnic for them both and set their destination for Barcelona. The planet, not the city.

* * *

The Doctor and Rose met Clara Oswald in Victorian London, and met her again in 2013. She had no idea who they were and ended up with an invitation from the Doctor to travel with the pair of them.

Clara agreed. But only on Wednesdays.

* * *

And then there were three Doctors. Her current Doctor, Eleven, his predecessor, who Rose worked out was actually Ten, and a version of him she'd never met before.  
  
Ten looked shocked to see her when she followed Eleven through the wormhole. That lasted until Elizabeth I proceeded to kiss him senseless. Two versions of her. One of whom was a Zygon.  
  
Rose hadn't expected Ten to marry her, either. But she, Clara, her Doctor and the other Doctor stood as witnesses to the whole event, Clara and herself throwing flower petals over the happy couple.  
  
But then came the whole reason the three Doctors had been brought together in the first place.

The Time War.  
  
Rose watched as Clara talked to the three men, feeling a tickle in the back of her mind. She turned in its direction and was met with a version of herself. Rose gasped, but the other Rose placed a finger against her own lips.  
  
No one had noticed. No one would. They were busy ending the war.

* * *

It filled her with joy to see the Doctor so full of hope again. They might have saved Gallifrey, saved the Time Lords from being destroyed. She'd asked Ten where in his timeline he was, whether he'd already done the stolen earth.  
  
He had, and he'd listened to her. He'd found a way to take the Time Lord consciousness from Donna's mind, and she was still travelling with him. She was just at home today, visiting her grandad.

* * *

Rose was comforted by the knowledge that he wasn't alone, as Clara also asked to go home for a while.  
  
Her Doctor agreed. Clara had her own life, and from what Rose could tell, the other woman might even have someone waiting for her.

* * *

Rose was watching the Doctor as he dashed around the console, planning to drop in on Jack to give him back the vortex manipulator. This plan and their other plans to visit a town called 'Christmas' was interrupted by Clara asking for help with Christmas dinner.  
  
So Rose and the Doctor shared an awkward dinner with the Oswalds, trading glances as the memory of their first Christmas dinner together came back to them.

There might be companions and interruptions, arguments and even regenerations, but in the end, it all came down to one thing.

**The Doctor and Rose Tyler in the TARDIS. As it should be.**


End file.
